


Wildflowers

by AgateHearts



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Flowers, Fluff, I seem to write a lot of them giving special presents to one another, It's a kind of love I suppose, M/M, Sweet, quiet moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 11:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17559512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgateHearts/pseuds/AgateHearts
Summary: Scent is one of the strongest foundations of memories. Past and present are not so far apart after all.





	Wildflowers

Wildflowers, huh.  
  
Baze twirled the stem of the small blue flower between his thumb and forefinger, watching it whirl slowly, petals flaring and settling in the rhythm of the motion. The flower was only the size of his nail, tiny, really, especially compared to the flowers he’d seen on lusher worlds: there flowers were as big as his hand, fingers outstretched, or even his head. But Jedha was different; Jedha had rain only very rarely, and standing water never. However…  
  
When Baze lifted his eyes, all the ground before him was awash in shimmering sapphire blue.  
  
The flowers made up for their diminutive size with their numbers. A flood of them lapped around his feet, swaying lightly in the desert breeze, so joyful in their life that he almost couldn’t bear to look at them. The brief and intense rains brought periods of blooming and life just as brief in their duration as flowers flung their seeds to the traveling wind and expired in beauty.  
  
Chirrut had once compared Baze to a wildflower, had woven blue stars into his hair and chattered with a voice that was as light and playful as the wind, and hands that were as restless and life-giving as the rain. Baze had leaned into the touch, and Chirrut had laughed and pulled him back into his lap, tangling his fingers in his hair and showering them both with flowers.  
  
The memory was almost too happy to touch, and Baze folded it back into his heart carefully, amazed it had snuck to the surface. But when he looked down at the tiny, wildly fragrant flower now resting in his palm, he saw not only the joy of the past, but the blue of Chirrut’s eyes, and the flash of his brilliant smile in the white heart of the bloom.

 

❊    ❊    ❊

“What’s this?”  
  
Chirrut’s voice was curious and amused, fingers questing over the small phial Baze had dropped into his lap. His face was deadpan even as he quipped, “Do you expect me to make a tears charm for you? How much do you think I cry when you’re gone?”  
  
Baze gave a short, hearty bark of laughter. “Maybe it’s the tears I’ve cried because I knew I had to come back to your teasing, old fool. Open it. _Carefully._ ”  
  
Chirrut pursed his lips at Baze, but his deft fingers were already unscrewing the cap of the small container. When the lid dropped off, its tiny chain keeping it from falling with a tinkle of metal against glass, Chirrut gave a soft _oh_ of realization. The scent of the desert wildflowers soaked into the atmosphere of their apartment, breathing life and rain and beauty in the space of a few heartbeats.  
  
Baze raised his eyebrows as Chirrut sat silent, just holding the phial with a look of surprise on his face. “That bad? I didn’t expect the smell to still your tongue as well as fill your nose.” Baze’s banter hid a sudden wash of worry. What if Chirrut hadn’t wanted to remember those days, the time when they were young and he could see and the Temple still stood secure over the mesa?  
  
But Chirrut was laughing, quietly, then saying, “Ah, it’s because of what’s missing!”  
  
Baze quirked an eyebrow, his unspoken question clear even as Chirrut felt for his narrow cup and carefully set the phial within, the better to appreciate the fragrance of the flowers preserved in oil, still wafting their essence into the air. “ _You,_ Baze. You’re out of reach. Come here, I want to braid your hair.” He patted the floor in front of him happily, almost impatiently, even as the corners of his vibrantly blue eyes crinkled with his smile.  
  
Suddenly Baze had a lump in his throat that made it very hard for him to swallow, and the room blurred. He nodded jerkily a couple times, and as he stepped forward Chirrut chirped, “And NO ARMOR. For _once._ ” For some reason that made Baze laugh again, his voice thick with all the swirling feelings in his chest.

He shucked his armor and sat down, and Chirrut’s fingers immediately came up and began their delighted journey through his locks, teasing out knots and sorting the hair into strands. “It’s like you brought me kyber light in a bottle, Baze, but even better. And it’s something we can enjoy together.”  
  
Baze nodded, his heart very full as he felt the familiar and comfortable sensation of Chirrut’s hands moving in his hair. It was as though they were twenty years younger, surrounded by light and peace once again, and the wetness in his eyes for the bittersweet memory was worth every pang as he echoed Chirrut.

“Yes. Together.”

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired in part by [Naniiebim's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/naniiebim/pseuds/naniiebim) beautiful artwork, which you can view [here.](http://naniiebim.tumblr.com/post/166302551488/naniiebimworks-look-for-the-force-and-you-will)


End file.
